This invention relates to the fastening of clips by means of staples and the like driven into a work piece. The particular clip which is of concern is a spring mounting clip of U-shape having diverging legs and one of which is longer than the other. These clips are used in the construction of furniture to hold spring coils and the like, and heretofore they have been installed individually by placing them manually followed by the application of a fastener driven by a hammer or by a pneumatic drive tool. Obviously, the manual hammer application and/or orientation of the pneumatic tool is time consuming. Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to eliminate the handling and orientation of individual clips by automatically supplying them into oriented position with respect to a fastener tool during the fastener driving operation.
It is common practice to supply staples and clips from spring biased magazines carried by a single pneumatic fastener driving tool. However, the particular clip with which this invention is concerned has required individual handling, due to its U-shape and the dissimilar lengths of its two legs. Such clips are supplied as loose individual clips for manual applications, and they are stacked in columnar formation for tool application and characterized by a nesting together and overlapped formation of sequential clips. This nested and overlapping of stacked clips has required their separation in feed mechanisms which have therefore been complicated and cumbersome and not altogether conducive to use in hand carried tools where light weight and compactness is to be desired. Heretofore, forward separation of the foremost clip from the stacked supply thereof had been unobvious and overlooked, and for example typical clip feeders have separated the foremost clip laterally from the magazine supply; as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 2,886,815 issued to Charles L. Young, May 19, 1959, and as disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,810 issued to Daniel Krakauer et al. Jan. 11, 1972. Consequently, the clip magazines of the prior art have had interferring relationships with respect to the fastener magazines, and all of which has required separation and angular dispositions of one magazine to the other. It is an object of this invention to provide a compact and light weight clip feeding magazine that is closely positioned and combined with a fastener magazine with which it cooperates to orient a single clip beneath a single staple for each succeeding installation of a clip fastened by a staple. With the present invention the sequential clip and magazine feed coordination is entirely automatic, as will be described.
The fastening of clips of the character herein referred to has required fastener driving tools of special head design and special fastener magazine design, in addition to the special design of a clip feeder and magazine therefor. It is an object of this invention to adapt a special clip feeding magazine without requiring a special tool head design and without requiring a special fastener magazine design. In other words, the fastener driving tool head and fastener magazine remain unchanged, and all that is necessary is several anchor attachments for adapting the clip feeder and magazine as it is hereinafter described.
Reference is made to my co-pending application Ser. No. 358,539 filed Mar. 16, 1982, entitled CLIP MAGAZINE FEED FOR FASTENER DRIVING TOOLS and issued Jan. 10, 1984 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,424,929. In that disclosure the semi-circular rear end of the clip was preceeded by the straight leading edge of the lower mounting leg thereof; the said semi-circular rear end being advanced by the following stack of clips and/or by the magazine follower, and the upper leg of the clip being stopped against the back plate of the fastener driving head of the tool. The fastener magazine and clip magazine therein are mounted rigid and parallel one with the other, and all of which necessitates a separately operable level means for retraction of the clip stack from the foremost clip. Furthermore, the said foremost clip therein is not juxtapositioned as close as it is now possible in the present invention, to the work plane when the fastener is driven therethrough. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to closely juxtaposition the clip to the work plane in readiness for fastening, and to substantially reduce the complexity of the lever means for the retraction of the clip stack from the foremost clip. With the present invention, the clip feeding magazine is shiftable relative to the fastener driving head of the tool, it being an object in this feature to cause embracement of the U-shaped clip with the projecting head of the tool. A feature as later described is the positioning of the clip by the magazine, and reversal of the clip stack, so that the semi-circular end of the clip preceeds the straight edge of the lower mounting leg. In other words, as disclosed herein the clip is said to have a semi-circular front end and trailing upper and lower legs with rear edges respectively.
It is an object of this invention to adapt the aforesaid clip feeding magazine close to the fastener magazine, adjacent thereto and in alignment below said fastener magazine. In practice, the preferred clip feeding magazine is side opening for travel of the stack pusher and manual access thereto. However, it is to be understood that top and bottom opening magazines are also feasible.
It is an object of this invention to separate the foremost clip from the columnar stacked supply thereof, preceeding the trigger actuation that operates the drive tool. With the present invention a lever means is operated by engagement of the magazine against the work piece, which retracts said columnar stack of clips from the said foremost clip to be secured. The said foremost clip is held positioned for receiving the fastener by gripper means and attractor means, as will be described.
It is an object to provide a clip magazine feed for fastener driving tools which is light weight and comprised of a minimum of simple and dependable parts that are accessible for maintenance while being protected as required in order to prevent damage thereto. Operation thereof is positive and trigger actuation of the drive tool is manual or timed, as desired, so that proper penetration of the clip by the fastener is ensured.